Q: If moving violation is not checked off on probation form can they use one against me if I get one during probation?
I was pulled over in Dakota county for speeding, went to court and fought because I was not going 82 as office stated. Was given probation 1yr and community service. I did just complete my community service and turned in form, however prior to turning in form I was pulled over in Washington County for moving violation (office said failed to yield). My wife was in the vehicle and is witness that I did not fail to yield as there was a blind hill and the person was coming up the hill was clearly speeding and almost hit back end of vehicle. Officer happened to be at stop sign and pulled me over saying "that person almost hit you". Can they use this against me as probation form was checked same or similar violation however there was a box below this checked box that said moving violation and it was NOT checked.
I will be going to court again in Washington county to fight the moving violation.
A:
Conditions of probation (or a stayed sentence) must be articulated by the judge at sentencing. The description here, of a speeding conviction with one-year "probation" is problematic since most speeding tickets are petty misdemeanors for which probation is not possible, since they are fine only violations. A tiny percentage of speeding cases are charged as misdemeanor crimes, with a maximum 90 day jail sentence - so probation is possible for those. Many people are unaware of the exact meaning of the word "probation," however. A person who resolves a petty misdemeanor speeding ticket with a Continuance for Dismissal after one year, conditioned on no same or similar violations, might wrongly say they are "on probation." It's not possible to discuss via web Q &A like this (as opposed to a phone call), but that seems more likely.
In any event, the question may be "is failure to yield the same or similar to speeding?" Personally I would say not, especially when the box for another option "any moving violation" was not checked on the list of conditions.
That said, the thing to do for now is to fight the failure to yield charge.
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